Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts



March 10, 1942.

J. W. ASHLEY MEANS FOR USE IN SHAPING UPPERS ovm LASTS Filed Sept. 20, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l /A/ l/E/VTUR.

'a zwow March 10, 1942. J. w. ASHLEY MEANS FOR USE IN SHAPING UPPERS OVER LASTS Filed Sept. 20, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wow QbN mi NGN EN N w N March 10, 1942.

J. W. ASHLEY MEANS FOR USE IN SHAPING UPPERS OVER LASTS Filed Sept. 20, 1940 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ,J \i M 114 127 2 f 127 1 r 112 112 i 117 4 11 3 E .7 m 1.29 116 I, :l {g2 U w March 10, 1942. J. w. ASHLEY 2,275,487 7 MEANS FOR USE IN SHAPING UPPERS OVER LASTS Filed Sept. 20, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig 7 Patented Mar. 10, 1942 s PATENT OFFICE MEANS FOR USE IN SHAPING UPPERS OVER LASTS J ohn W. Ashley, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 20, 1940, Serial No. 357,565 32 Claims. (Cl. 124) This invention relates to means for use in shaping uppers over lasts and is herein .illustrated in its application to means particularly adapted for use inlasting the breast line portions of uppers. e e

The breast line lasting operation consists in pulling up the quarter linings to eliminate any wrinkles which may have occurred therein and to cause them to lie smoothly against the last, adjusting the counter wings heightwise in order to locate them correctly with relation to the last, and it may involve also tensioning the breast line portion of the upper heightwise and securing the lining, counter and upper to the insole. It has been the usual practice to last the breast line portions of shoe uppers after the upper has been tensioned lengthwise and tacke-dto the forepart of the last by the pulling-over machine. The performance of the breast line lasting operation after the upper has been pulled over is rendered difficult and inconvenient by the heavy lengthwise tension imparted to the upper in the pulling-over operation and also by reason of the fact that a sufficient time interval often transpiresbetween the assembling of the upper and the counter and the breast line lasting operation to permit the counter adhesive to set sufiiciently to require the bond between the counter wings and the upper to be broken before the breast line lasting operation can be performed.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means for use in positioning the upper and holding it for the breast line lasting operation which will enable the operator to perform a the breast line lasting operation efiiciently on an upper not previously pulled over. With this objectin view the illustrated invention provides members herein illustrated as pads constructed and arranged to grip the top marginal portion at the rear part of an Oxford upper against its last in order to hold the rear part of the upper against heightwise movement on the last, an end embracing band operable to grip the bottom marginal portion atthe rear part of the upper against the last in order to hold the upper in lasted position, means foradvancing the band into end, embracing position, devices operating independently of each. other to close the end portions of the band on the upper, and means herein illustrated as a toe gripper for tensioning the upper lengthwise inorder to insure a close contact of the rear part of the upper and counter with the rear end portion of the last said gripper being operated before bringing the band into gripping engagement with opposite sides of the.

upper. In order to insure a proper positioning of the rear part of the upper on the last for the breast line lasting operation means is provided for bringing the pads into gripping engagement gWlth the top marginal portion of an Oxford upper and for bringing the bandinto gripping engagement with the rear end portion of the upper while the side portions of. theiband are spaced away from the upper, and meansherein illustrated as a hand lever is provided for controlling the operation both of the band and the pads.

In performing the breast line lasting operation with the aid of the means herein illustrated, the operator, after first gripping the rearend portion and the top margin of the sides of the counter portion of the upper against the last, pulls up the breast line portion at one side of the upper, for example, by means of hand pincers, and while holding the upper under heightwise tension bringsthe band into clamping engagement with the upperin order to hold the upper in the position into which the pincers have brought it, "and then repeats the operation on the other? side of the breast line portion of the upper. With this operation in view, the illustrated heel band, in accordance with a feature 'of the invention, is provided with independently operable devices for bringing opposite side portions of the heel band into clamping engagement with the upper, said devices, as herein illustrated, comprising cams which act against mechanism for locking the band against outward movement. For independently operating said cams, each cam is provided with a hand lever, and to facilitate the release of the upper from the band each lever is constructed and arranged for an additional movement afterjunclamping the band from the upper to release said locking mechanism and permit the side portions of the band to swing outwardly away from the upper. Theillustrated end embracing band is mounted on a slide movable lengthwise of the upper and mounted on said slide are carriers for the end portions of the band, arms which carry the toplmargin gripping pads, and means for locking the band carriers against movement away from the upper.

For applying lengthwise tension to the upper there are provided, in accordance with a further feature of the invention, a pair of gripper jaws, a carrier for said jaws, pawl and ratchet mechanism for locking said carrier in order to prevent movement of the jaws in one direction while permitting movement in another direction for f applying tension to the upper, a member operable to open the gripperjaws and separate the pawl and ratchet, and means operable automatically upon release of said member to close the gripper jaws on the upper and to render the pawl and ratchet mechanism effective. In order to hold the last against heightwise movement during the lengthwise tensioning of the upper a against an eccentric surface on. the holddown,

said cam member being readily operableto permit the automatic return of the holddown to its inoperative position.

These and other features of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation illustrating the worksupporting mechanism of the present invention applied to the jack of a shoe machine, certain parts being broken away and other parts shown in section;

Fig- 2 is a section on the line IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the worksupporting mechanism mounted on a bench standard, certain parts being broken away and other parts shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line IVIV of Fig. 6;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation illustrating the worksupporting mechanism together with certain operating parts of a heel seat lasting machine, partly in section, in a plane common to the foremost tack drivers;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line VIVI of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a plan view showing the rear part of the work support'with a shoe therein;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation, partly in section on the line VIIIVIII of Fig. 3, illustrating the holddown mechanism; and

Fig. 9 is a plan view, partly in section on the line IXIX of Fig. 8.

The illustrated upper gripping and tensioning device is shown in Fig. 1 applied to a heel end lasting machine of the type illustrated, for example, in United States Letters Patent No. 2,085,755, granted July 6, 1937, on an application of J. C. Jorgensen, and in Fig. 3 the device is shown mounted on a bench standard. Referring to Fig. 1, the numeral it indicates the frame of the lasting machine and it? indicates the jack which is mounted for swinging movement and carries a postM which moves heightwise of a last l6 supported on a last pin 58 at the upper end of the post. Referring to Fig. 5, the illustrated machine is provided with the usual heel seat lasting wipers 20 and a holddown 22 which limits upward movement of the jack post and positions the last and an upper 24 mounted thereon relatively to the wipers 20. Inasmuch as the rear part embracing band herein illustrated is carried by the jack and therefore cannot serve to trated bumper is a leather faced plate 26 secured to parallel bars 23 slidably mounted in parallel, hollow arms 39 of a bracket 32 secured to a crosshead 34 in the'upper portion of the jack !2. The

bumper 26 is positioned relatively to the crosshead 34 by an adjusting screw 36 swiveled in a crosshead 38 connecting the ends of the arms 30 and threaded through a crosshead 49 connecting the ends of the .bars 28. It will be understood that the bumper 26 will be adjusted in accordance with the length of that portion'of the last from the thimble to the heel end which length varies somewhat in different lasts;

' For gripping the rear part of the upper against the last, the illustrated device is provided with a flexible' rear part embracing band 42, the back part of which has substantially the same heightposition the upper longitudinally in the machine 1 as does the rear part embracing band in the machine'illustrated in the patent to Jorgensen, above referred to, the illustrated construction includes means herein illustrated as a bumper 26 (Figs. 1 and 2) for positioning the last and upper longitudinally relatively to the operating instrumentalities of the machine. The illuswise dimension as an upper 24 of an Oxford shoe while the height of the opposite side portions is substantially reduced by cutting away the lower part of the band to leave the top marginal portion of the upper uncovered by the band (Fig. 3). The heel band is supported by a bracket 44 (Fig. 4) which is riveted to the downwardly extending portion 46 of the heel band, said bracket being secured to a slide 48 mounted in a groove extending longitudinally of the upper through the head of a bracket 50 which is clamped to the head of a horizontal arm 52 which, in turn, is clamped to the post M which carries the last pin. To afford heightwise adjustment of the heel band for different heights of lasts, the bracket 50 is provided with slots 56 through which extend clamping screws 58 which secure the bracket to the arm 52. For supporting the toe portion of the last and upper the illustrated machine is provided with mechanism similar to that illustrated in the patent to Jorgensen above referred to, said mechanism comprising a standard 68 slidably mounted on the arm 52, a vertical slide 64 mounted on the standard and a toe rest 66 swiveled on the slide 64. The slide 64 is adjusted by turning a pinion 70 carried by the slide and arranged to mesh with rack teeth in the standard 60.

For holding the rear part of the upper against heightwise movement while the breast line portion of the upper is manually shaped over the last, a pair of gripper members or pads '32 (Figs. 3 and 5) are arranged to engage the top marginal portion of the upper at opposite sides of the rear part of the upper. The pads 12 are swiveled at the forward ends of arms I4 which are pivoted substantially midway between their ends on pins 76 (Figs. 3 and '7) secured to and extending upwardly from the forward ends of a generally V-shaped bracket, 18 secured to the slide 48 (Fig. 4:). The pads are yieldingly urged against the upper by a spring 80 (Figs. 4 and '7) mounted in a bore in a boss 82 extending upwardly from the bracket 78, said spring acting against heads 86 on the arms 14.

For urging the rear part of the band 42 against the back-seam portion of the upper at a point adjacent to the lasting margin, two springs 86 (Figs. 3 and 6) are .secured at their rear ends to studs extending downwardly from arms 88 extending outwardly from the slide 48 and at their forward ends to studs 99 extending outwardly from the head of the bracket 5d. When there is no shoe on the work support, the heel band 42 and by mechanism now to be described. A crossshaft 92 journaled in the bracket 50 has secured to one end a bell crank hand lever 94 and to the other end (Fig. 6) an arm 96 corresponding to the vertical arm of the bell crank lever. The bell crank lever 94 and the arm 96, carry inwardly directed cam members or heads 98 (Figs. 6 and '7) which engage diagonal cam faces I at the rear ends of the arms 14. In their position illustrated in Fig. 7, the cam members hold the rear portions of the arms 14 at or near the limit of their movement toward each other and maintain thepads 12 at the limit of their movement away from each other For holding the band 42 in its retracted position, that is, at the limit of its rearward movement, a short arm I02 (Figs. 3 and 4) secured to a cross-shaft I04 is arranged to engage a downward extension I06 of the slide 48. For operating the arm I02, a short arm I08 (Fig. 3) is secured to the shaft I04 and connected to the bell crank hand lever 94 by a link I I0. When the lever 94 is moved downwardly or in a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 3, the arm I02 engages the downward extension I06 of the slide 48'moving the slide and the band 42 rearwardly or to the left, as seen in Fig. 3, and, at the same time the heads 98 of the lever 94 and arm 96 move forwardly or to the right, as seen in Fig. 3, actingagainst the cam faces: I00 of the arms I4 to move the pads 12 away from each other. It will be understood that an upward orcounter-clockwise movement of the lever 94 permits the springs 86 to move the band 42 forwardly against the upper 24 and permits thespring 80 (Fig. '7) to force the pads 12 toward each other and against the top margin of the upper 24. During its forward movement, theband 42 isheld in its wide open position by of the arms I I2 carries a spring-pressed detent I24 in a downwardlyextending head I26 (Fig. 3). The surface I23 of the eccentric is in engagement with the extension I21 as the arm H2 is swung inwardly to bring the band 42 into engagement with the upper and after the arm H2 has been moved inwardly as far as possible and the detent I24 has engaged one of the teeth of the ratchet I22 to hold the arm against return movement, the handle I 2I ofthe eccentric H9 is drawn inwardly to bring the surface I25 of the eccentric into engagement with the extension I21 of the head II5 therebyfurther advancing the arm I I2 under relatively heavy pressure and pressing the band 42 forcibly into clamping engagement with the upper 24. When it is desired to release the band 42 from the upper, the handle I2I is swung outwardly relieving the pressure of the band against the upper, said outward movement of the handle I2I being continued after the pressure of theband against the upper has been released in order to cause a pin I29 extending downwardly from a lug on the handle to engage the bell crank leverl28 and swing it in a direction to cause the short arm I3I of said I is operated'to relieve the pressure of the band mechanism to be described so that its opposite side portions do not engage the upper and the band remains in its open position while the heel breast portions of the upper are manually tensionedheightwise. After each side of the breast line portion of the upper is tensioned, the band 42 atthat sideof the upper is brought into clamping engagement with the upper to hold it tensioned and held in clamping position by mechanism now to be described.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 7, two arms II2 are pivotally mounted on the pins 16 and extend divergently forward along opposite sides of the rear part of the upper 24. Mounted in the forward portion of each of the arms H2 and extending transversely thereof is a stem II3 having a rectangular head II5 (Fig. 5) which sets into a recess in a block II4 which, in turn, is secured to the forward portion of the band 42 by a clamp I I6 having an upturned flange which is seated in a groove in the band. The clamp H6 is secured to the block II4 by a clamping nut and bolt II8 which also provides a pivotal connection of the head I I5to said block. The stem II3. carries a spring Ill which bears against the outer surface of the arm H2 and. urges the block II4 against the inner surface of said arm. For clamping the end portions of the band 42 against the upper each arm IIZ has pivoted to its forward end a cam member or eccentric II9 (Fig.7) terminating in a handle I2I, said eccentric having two surfaces I23 and I25 located at.

different distances from its fulcrum and arranged to engage alternatively an upward extension I2l (Fig. 5) of the head H5. The arms I I2 are supported by forwardly and outwardly I extending arms of a ratchet plate I20 mounted on the pins 16. For locking 3 the arms II2 againstoutward movement, the plate I20 has ratchet teeth I22 at its forward ends and each against the upper, then to withdraw the detent, and finally to swing the arm II2= outwardly into its fully retracted position.

Before the band 42 is closed on the rear part of the upper, theupper is tensioned lengthwise by manually operated grippers comprising a fixed lower jaw I32 (Fig. 3) mounted between parallel arms I34 and a movable upper jaw I36 pivoted at I38 between the arms I34. Thearms I34 extend upwardly from a common hub mounted on a cross-shaft I40 carried by a bracket I 42 secured to the slide 64 and adjustable thereon in the path of an angular groove I44 in a rearward extension I46 .of the slide 64 into which groove the bracket I42 is tongued, said groove being so directed that, as the gripper assembly is adjusted upwardly, it is also adjusted toward the heel end of the shoe. The bracket I42 is held in adjusted position a by clamping screws I48 extending through parallel slots I50 in the bracket. For swinging the upper gripper jaw I36 in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 3, to close the gripper on the upper, a lever I52 is mounted on the shaft I40 and has an arm I54 extending upwardly from said shaft between the arms I34, said arm being providedlat its upper end with a roll I56 whichacts against the tail I58 of the upper gripper jaw, which is so arranged that clockwise movement of the lever I52 causes a counterclockwise movement of the upper gripper jaw. The upper gripper jaw is normally held in its closed position, as shown in Fig. 3, by a spring I60 one end of which is secured to a downward extension I62 of the hub of the arms I34 and the,

other end of which is secured to a short arm I64 extending downwardly and rearwardly from the hub of the lever I52. The lever I52 is provided with a handle I66 which is moved downwardly to swing the gripper assembly in a direction to impart longitudinal tension to the upper. For holding the gripper assembly against return movement after the upper has been so tensioned,

a pawl IE8 is pivoted to an arm I10 extending rearwardly from the hub of the lever I52 and is urged by a spring I'II against ratchet teeth I12 in a segment I'M formed in the bracket I42. For releasing the pawl I68 and opening the gripper jaws, a hand lever I76 is pivoted to the handle I86 and connected by a link I18 to an extension I85 of the arms I34, the upper portion I8I of said extension being arranged to engage the tail of the pawl I 58 to release the pawl. The lever I I6 also causes a relativemovement of the arms I34 and I54 such that a roll I82 carried by the arm I54 engages the upper surface of the upper gripper jaw I35 and swings said jaw in a clock-' wise direction to open the grippers. After the grippers have been opened and the pawl I68 has been released, the gripper assembly may be swung freely tomove the grippers out of upper-engaging position.

' For holding the toe portions of the last and upper against upward'movement while the upper is being tensioned lengthwise by the operation of the gripper mechanism above described, a holddown member I84 (Figs. 3, 8, and 9) is fulcrumed on a pin I86 between upwardly extending arms I88 of an arm I90 on the bracket I42, said holddown having a handle I92 to facilitate swinging the holddown to its operative position illustrated' in Fig. 8. The holddown is returned to its retracted position by a torsion spring I94 (Fig. 9) surrounding the head of the fulcrum pin I86 and anchored to a pin on a collar I 96 secured to the head. For holding the holddown member I84 in operative position, a generally cylindrical wedge I98 is slidably mounted in a socket 2450 provided in a crosshead 202 connecting the'upper portions of the arms I88, and is arranged to engage an arcuate edge face 294 of the holddown member I84, said edge face being beveled for engagement with the surface 205 of the wedge and arranged in eccentric relation to the pin I86 to enable the wedge to hold the holddown against counter-clockwise movement (Fig. 8) from its operative position. For moving the wedge in a direction such that its engagement with the eccentric surface 204 is maintained while the holddown is swung into operative position, a compression spring 206 surrounds a stem 258 projecting axially from the wedge and is confined between a nut 2I0and a washer 2 I2 carried by said stem. When the holddown is to be retracted to permit removal of the shoe from the machine, the operator merely pulls on a knob 2 I4 on a stem ZIB projecting axially from the wedge through a bore in the crosshead 202 whereupon the torsion spring I94 returns theholddown member to its rest position.

Referring to Fig. 3, illustrating the work supporting mechanism mounted on a bench standard, thelower portion 2I8 of the spindle 54 is fixedly mounted in a tubular standard 22!] extendingupwardly from a base plate 222 and extending downwardly from the base plate into a suitable bore in a bench 224. The top margin of the base plate 222 is shouldered to receive a flanged ring 228 secured to the bench 224. The base plate 222 turns within the ring 228 to present the jack and a shoe mounted therein in various positions of orientation to the operator. To hold the work support in any selected position, a detent 230 is pressed by a spring 232 into one of a plurality of notches in the periphery of the base plate 222, and a manually operable eccentric 234 is pivoted to a detent housing 235 provided with a suitable slot through-which a stud 238 extends upwardly from the detent.

In lasting the breast line portions of shoe uppers with the aid of the illustrated device, the upper parts may be assembled on the last and tacked to the rear part of the last in the usual mannerpreparatory to the breast line lasting operation or they may be loosely mounted on the last and held in place on the rear part of the last by the rear part embracing band42. When the illustrated device is mounted on the jack of a heel end lasting machine, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the machine is preferably adjusted to drive tacks at three points only, namely, at the back seam and at the opposite ends of the heel breast line. It will be understood'that when the device is mounted on a bench standard, as shown in Fig. 3, tacks are manually driven at the desired locations to secure the upper in breast line lasted position. In the operation of the device, a last with an upper thereon is mounted on the last pin I8'and the toe rest 66 while the band 42 is held at the limit of its rearward movement by the bell crank lever 94, and the pads I2 are held at the limit of their movement away from each other also by the operation of the bell crank lever 94. To grip the rear part of the upper against the last at the lower portion of the back seam and at the top margin at opposite sides of the rear part of the upper, the bell crank lever 94 is swung in a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 3, whereupon the springs 86 advance the band 42 bodily against the back-seam portion of the upper and the spring 80 (Fig. 7) acts against the arms-I4 to press the pads 12 against the top margin at opposite sides of the rear part of the upper. The toe gripper mechanism, illustrated in Fig. 3, is nowoperated to tension the upper lengthwise and the pawl I68 holds the gripper assembly against return movement in order to maintain the lengthwise tension on the upper during the breast line lasting operation. The arms II2 (Fig. '7) are now'swung inwardly to bring the forward portions of the band 42 into engagement with the breastline portion of the upper. This initial inward movement of the arms I I2 presses the ends of the band relatively lightly against the upper, this pressure being sufficient to hold the upper against the last but not sufficient to interfere appreciably with heightwise tensioning of the upper. While the upper is so held, the operator performs the breast line lasting operation, customarily by means of hand pincers, first on one side and then the other. The breast line lasting operation, as it is usually performed, consists in pulling up the quarter lining at opposite sides of the upper in order to eliminate any wrinkles that may have formed therein, pulling up the wings of the counter, if necessary, in order to position them accurately on the last and finally applying heightwise tension to the upper itself to shape it to the last.

. When the device is mountedon the bench standdevice is fixed in one position of orientation, as

shown in Fig. 1, the operator will stand facing the toe end of the upper and will operate his hand pincers first with one hand and then the lever IZI members and the i band.

. other in lasting opposite sides of the upper.

After the lasting has been completed on one side of the upper, the eccentric H9 (Fig. '7) on that side is operated to clamp the band 42 firmly against theupper by swinging the handle I21 toward the upper and into its position illustrated in Fig. 7. Thereupon the opposite side of the upper is lastedand the end portion of the band at that side of the upper is similarly brought into clamping position. The upper is now secured to an insole on the last bottom. In the construction illustrated inFig. 1, it will be understood that this is accomplished automatically in the usual operation of the heel end lasting machine, while in the construction illustrated in Fig. 3,

tacks are manually driven to secure the lasting margin of the upper to the insole. After the tacks have been driven, the band 42 isunclamped from the side portions of the upper and moved away from the upper by a single motion of each (Fig. 7) away from the upper. The bellcrank lever 94 is then swung in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 3, to move the rearpart of the band away from the upper and tomove the pads 12 outwardly from the opposite sides of the upper. The toe gripper jaws are now released from the upper and the holddown I84 is retracted leaving the shoe free to be removed from the work supports.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising members constructed and arranged to grip the top marginal portion at the rear part of an upper against a last, an end embrac ing band forgripping the bottom marginal portionof the upper against the last, means for advancing the bandinto end embracing position, devices operating independently of each other to close opposite end portions of the band on the upper, and means for tensioning the upper lengthwise before bringing the end portions of the band into pressing engagement with opposite sidesof the upper. 2. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising members constructed and arranged to grip the top marginal portion at the rear part of an upper against a last, an end embracing band for grippingthe bottom marginal portion of the upper against the last, said band extendin toewardly at least to a, point in alinement, lieightwise of the shoe, with the longitudinal position of said members on the shoe, and means for tensioning the upper lengthwise from its toe end.

3. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising members constructed and arranged to grip the top marginal portion at the rear part of an upper against a last, an end embracing band for gripping the bottom marginal portion of the upper against the last, means for tensioning the upper lengthwise, means for operating said upper gripping members, means for advancing the band lengthwise against the rear end portion of the upper, and an operating member for controlling the operation of said gripping lengthwise movement of the 4. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising members constructed and arranged to grip the top marginal portion at the rear part of an upper against a last, an end embracing band for gripping the bottom marginal portion of the upper against the last, means for tensioning the upper lengthwise, means for advancing the band lengthwise of the upper against the rear end portionof the upper, and means for bringing. opposite side portions of the band into grippin'g'engagement with the upper independently of eachother.

5. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band, means for advancing the band, with its sides spaced away from the upper, bodily lengthwise of the upper against its back-seam portion, means for bringing the end portions of. the band into gripping engagement with the upper, and means acting against the top marginal portion of the upper to grip it against the last.

6. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band, means acting against the top marginal portion at opposite sides of an upper to grip it against a last, and means operable at the will of the operator for advancing the band, wtih its ends spaced from the upper, bodily lengthwise of the upper against its back-seam portion and for simultaneously actuating said top margin gripping means.

7. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band, a member for gripping the top marginal portion of an upper against a last, means for simultaneously operatmg the band and the member, and a hand lever for controlling the operation of the band and the member.

8. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band, a gripper constructed and arranged to operate against the top marginal portion of an upper on a last, means for advancing the band lengthwise of the upper with its end portions spaced away from the upper, meansfor. actuating the top margin gripper, a manually operated member for controlling lengthwise movement of the band and the actuation of the gripper, and means for bringing opposite end portions of the band into gripping engagement with the upper independently of each other.

9. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band for gripping an upperfagainst a last, members constructed and arranged to grip the top marginal portion of the upperagainst the last, means normally acting to urge the band against and end portion of the upper while the end portions of the band are spaced away from the upper and to hold said top margin gripping members in gripping engagement with the upper, and independently operable devices for bringing opposite sides of the hand forcibly against the upper to clamp the up-f per against the last.

10. Means for use in shapinguppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band for gripping an upper against a last, members constructed and arranged to grip the top marginal portion of the upper against the last, means normally. acting to urge the band against an end portion of the upper while the end portions of the bandare spaced away from the upper and to hold said top margin gripping members in gripping engagement with the upper, a work support, and means for relatively adjusting the'work support and the upper engaging members heightwise of the acting to urge the hand against. an end portion of the upper while the endportions of theband are spaced away. from the upper and to hold said top margin. gripping members. in grippingengagement. with the upper, arwork support, and a holder for the upper engaging members and the band mounted on the work support for adjustment heightwise of the upper.

12. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band for gripping an upper against a last, means normally acting to urge the band against an end portion of the upper while the end portions of the band are spaced away from the upper, independently operable devices for bringingopposite sides of the band into clamping engagement withthe upper,

and, means fortensioning the upper lengthwise and, holding the upper tensioned, while the. op-

posite sides of the band are brought intoclamping engagement with the upper.

13. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an. end embracing band for gripping an upper against a last, means normally acting to urge the band against an end portion of the upper while the end portions of the band are spaced away from the upper, independently operable devices for bringing opposite sides; of the band into clamping engagement with the upper, meansfor tensioning the upper lengthwise and holding the upper tensioned' while the opposite sides of the band are brought into clamping engagement with the upper, a toerest and a holddown for holding the toe portion of the last against heightwise movement during the upper tensioning operation.

l4. Means for use in shapin juppers over lasts.

comprising pads constructed and arranged to grip top marginal portions at the rear part of an upper againsta last, carriers for said pads, means for urging said carriers. in a direction to press the pads against the upper, and a pair of cams for moving said carriersinthe opposite direction. 7 15. Means for usein shaping uppers over lasts comprising pads constructed and arrangedto grip top marginal portions at the rear part, of an. upper against a last, carriers for said pads,

means for urging said carriersin a direction to. press the. pads against the upper, a pair of cams.

for moving said carriersin the opposite direction, and a hand lever for actuating said cams.

' 16, Means for usein shaping uppers over lasts comprising pads constructed and arranged. to grip top marginal portions at the rear part of an upper against a last, carriers for said pads, means for urging said carriers in a direction to press the pads against the upper, a; pair of cams for urging said carriers in the opposite direction, an end embracing band, a, slide on which the band is mounted for movement lengthwise of theupper, a hand lever for actuating said cams and means operated by the hand lever for moving the slide in a direction to move the band away from the. upper;

1'7. Meansfor use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising pads constructed and arranged to grip top marginal'portions at the rear part of an upper' against a last, carriers for said pads, means for urging said carriers in a direction to press the pads against the upper, a pair of cams for urging said carriers in the opposite direction, an end embracing band, aslide on which the band is mounted for movement lengthwise of the upper, a hand lever, for actuating said cams, means operated by'thev hand-lever for moving the slide.

in a direction to move the band away from, the

upper, and means. operable at the will: of; the

operator for forcing the opposite end: portions of. the bandagainst the upper;

18. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band, carriers. for the. endv portions of r the band movable. in a. direction to bring said end portions. into engagement with an. upper on its last, locking meansfor holding each carrier against return movement, and a. member;- on each, carrier operable against the locking means for urging the end portions,

of the band. forcibly against the upper.

19. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band, carriers for the end. portions of the band movable in a direction to bring said end portions into engagement with an upper on its last, locking means for holding each carrier against return movement, an eccentric on each carrier operable against the lockingmeans for pressing the end portions of the band forcibly against the upper, and a hand lever for operating each eccentric andfor unlock-ing the carriers.

20. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band, a slide to which the' centralportion of the band is secured,- said slide being movable lengthwise of an upper on its last, means for moving said slide in a direction to force the band into en agement with the upper, carriers for the end portionsof the band movable in a direction to force the end portions of the band against the upper, means for locking the carriers against return movement, and means operating against said locking means for clamping the end portions of the band against the upper. I i

21'. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising an end embracing band, a. slide to which the central portion of the band is secured, said. slide being movable lengthwise of asupported upper on its last, means for moving said slide in 'a direction to force the band into engagement with the upper, carriers for the end portions of the band movable in a direction to force the end portions of the hand against the upper, means for locking the carriers against return movement, and an eccentric onv eachrarrier operable against said locking means to clamp the endportions'of the bandagainst theupper. 22. Means for use in shaping. uppers over lasts comprising pads constructed and arranged to engage the top marginal portionat opposite sides of an upper on its last, a. pair of levers on which sai'dpads are mounted, anend embracing band, a' pair of swinging. arms towhich. the end portions of said band are secured, means including.

a ratchet member for locking said band in upper engaging position, a, slide, onwhich are mounted saidlevers, said arms and said ratchetv member, and means for moving-said slide. lengthwise of theupper.

23'. Means for use in shaping uppers. over lasts 24; Means tor use in shaping uppersover lasts.

comprising work supporting means, and means for tensioning a supported upper consisting of a pair of gripper jaws, a carrier to which one of the jaws is fixed and on which the other jaw is arranged for opening and closing movement, pawl and ratchet mechanism for holding the carrier against movement in one direction, a member operable to open the gripper jaws and separate the pawl and ratchet, means operable automatically upon release of said member initially to close the gripper jaws on the upper and to render the pawl and ratchet mechanism effective, and an actuator operable to increase the gripping action of the gripper jaws on the upper and to move the carrier in a direction to tension the upper.

25. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising upper supporting means and means for tensioning a supported upper consisting of a fixed gripper jaw,,a movable gripper jaw, a carrier for said jaws, a hand lever, a member on said lever operable by relative movement of the lever and the carrier in one direction to close said movable jaw, and another member on said lever operable by relative movement of said lever and carrier in the opposite direction to open the gripper jaw.

26. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising upper supporting means and. means for tensioning a supported upper consisting of a fixed gripper jaw, a movable gripper jaw, a carrier for said jaws, a hand lever, a roll on said lever operableby relative movement of the. lever and the carrier in onedirection to close said movable jaw, and another roll on said lever operable by relative movement of said lever and carrier in the opposite direction to open the gripper jaw, means for locking said carrier against movement in one direction, and means for unlocking the carrier and effecting relative movement of the carrier and the lever to open the gripper jaws.

27. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising upper supporting means and means for tensioning a supported upper from its toe end consisting of afixed gripperjaw, a movable gripper jaw, a carrier for said jaws, a hand lever, a

roll on. said lever operable by relative movement of the lever and the carrier in one direction to close said movable jaw, another roll on said lever operable by relative movement of said lever and carrier in the opposite direction to open the gripper jaw, means for locking said carrier against movement, means for unlocking the carrier and effecting relative movement of the carrier and the lever to open the gripper jaws, and yielding means for efiecting relative movement of the lever and the carrier in a direction to close the gripper jaws.

28. Means for use in shaping uppers over lasts comprising upper supporting means and means for tensioning a supported upper consisting of a fixed gripper jaw, a movable gripper jaw, a carrier for said jaws, a hand lever, a roll on said lever operable by relative movement of the lever and the carrier in one direction to close said movable jaw, another roll on said lever operable by relative movement of said lever and carrier in the opposite direction to open the gripper jaw, means for locking said carrier against movement, means for unlocking the carrierand effecting relative movement of the carrier and the lever to open the gripper jaws, and yielding means for efiecting relative movement of the lever and the carrier in a direction to close the gripper jaws and for rendering said locking means eifective.

29. In combination with means for operating on a supported shoe, a holddown mounted to swing on an axis generally lengthwise of the shoe, a spring constantly urging the holddown away from the shoe and a cam member for locking the holddown in operative position, said holddown being provided with an eccentric surface against which the cam member is advanced automatically as the holddown is advanced.

, 30. In a heel end-lasting machine the combination with lasting wipers and a jack arranged for movement from shoe-receiving position to position the shoe relatively to the wipers, of means mounted on the jack comprising a heel end-embracing band, and devices operating independently of each other to bring the opposite side portions of the band into clamping engagement with a shoe on the jack.

31. In a machin for use in shaping uppers over lasts, operating means, a Work support movable to and from position to present an upper on its last to the operating means, an endembracing band carried by the work support, devices operating independently of each other to causethe opposite side portions of said band to press the upper against the. last, and means for positioning the upper lengthwise relatively to the operating. means comprising a bumper on the work support and a stop against which the bumper operates.

32. In amachine for use in shaping uppers over lasts, operating means, a work support movable to and from position to present an upper to the operating means, an end-embracing band carried by the work support,'and means for positioning the upper lengthwise relatively to the operating means comprising a bumper on the work support and a stop against which the bumper operates, said bumper being adjustable lengthwise of the upper to vary the lengthwise position of the upper relatively to the 1 operating means.

JOHN. W. ASHLEY. 

